First "Family" Car - 1967 vs 2021

[DGS49]

Imagine a small family, one kid, parents buying their first new car in 1967. That family very possibly would be buying a '67 Chevy II "Nova" sedan with the 2.5L (153 c.i.) four-banger having 90 HP, with a "three on the tree" manual transmission. The car cost about $2,500, depending on options, which were probably few. It had a radio and heater, but no air conditioning. Cheap vinyl seats, drum brakes, no cruise control, or much of anything else. It was stripped down. In today's dollars, that $2,500 would be about $21,000 based on CPI growth over the 54 years since this hypothetical family bought the car.

The Nova has a wheelbase of 110", but is only 163" long. It weighs 2,700 lbs.

The Nova is slow as a rock - zero to 60 in 12-14 seconds, and even with the best efforts of the driver, it wouldn't get much more than 25 mpg on the highway, and 16-18 mpg around town. Gas is about $0.32/gal.

If one wanted to max out that Nova (Chevy II), it could be had with a 350hp, 327 c.i. V8. With the optimistic ratings of that era, the hopped up Nova would do 0-60 in about 7 seconds - very quick for the time.

Fast forward to 2021. That guy's grandson is likely looking at a new Honda Civic sedan, with a base sticker price of $23.170 - a little bit more than the Nova in constant year dollars.

The Civic is heavier, at 2,876 pounds, and is also almost fifteen inches longer, at 177.9", with a wheelbase of 106.3." Interestingly, the "overhangs" on the Civic total 71.6", vs. 53" for the Nova. The presence of a frame in the Nova creates the potential for greater space between the axles and more room in the passenger compartment.

The base Civic will hit 60 mph in a little over 7 seconds, and get a combined fuel economy over 30mpg. It is almost ludicrous to talk about the technological improvements incorporated into the Civic. The brakes, handling, reliability, corrosion resistance, and lower maintenance costs are incredible, but again, we're talking about more than 50 years of evolution.

The top-spec Civic - the Type R, - has an honest 307 HP, and rockets to 60 in a tick over 5 seconds.

It's not really rational to complain about how expensive cars are today. There are a cornucopia of top end cars that do not really have counterparts from the distant past, but for working-class buyers the financial burden of cars today is not significantly greater than in past generations. And when you consider the vast improvements in performance, efficiency, reliability, and ease of maintenance, today's cars are a relative bargain.

Nevertheless, you gotta be out of your copulating mind to spend seventy grand on a pickup truck with a candy-ass five foot bed. Sorry, just my opinion.

 

[Otis Mayfield]

You know in Spanish "Nova." means "no go?"


Japanese cars might've devasted American car manufacturers, but they sure are good for the consumer. My commuter Honda has over 200K and it's still going like a champ.

 

[fncceo]

1963 Olds "88" in powder blue ...

Helped Dad wash it in the driveway every Sunday.

 

[fncceo]

You know in Spanish "Nova." means "no go?"


Japanese cars might've devasted American car manufacturers, but they sure are good for the consumer. My commuter Honda has over 200K and it's still going like a champ.

In Latin, it means "new".

 

[TroglocratsRdumb]

Yea, all true, except for the cool factor

 

[TroglocratsRdumb]

Modern cars are much better than 60s cars.
They handle and ride better.
They get better MPG.
They are much safer to drive.
If you put a young person in a 1960s car they will be shocked at how bad the steering and braking is compared to modern cars.

 

[fncceo]

Modern cars are much better than 60s cars.
They handle and ride better.
They get better MPG.
They are much safer to drive.
If you put a young person in a 1960s car they will be shocked at how bad the steering and braking as compared to modern cars.

Modern cars are "cooler" than the cars of your childhoods in one way only ...

Back in the day, in hot weather, or when traveling over high grades, it was a common site to see cars on the side of the road waiting for the radiators to cool down. I can't remember the last time I saw a car overheat.

I have 150,000 miles on my commuter car and I've never seen the temp gauge creep above the middle of the dial even once. A temp gauge on a modern car is a vestigial organ.

 

[TroglocratsRdumb]

Modern cars are "cooler" than the cars of your childhoods in one way only ...

Back in the day, in hot weather, or when traveling over high grades, it was a common site to see cars on the side of the road waiting for the radiators to cool down. I can't remember the last time I saw a car overheat.

I have 150,000 miles on my commuter car and I've never seen the temp gauge creep above the middle of the dial even once. A temp gauge on a modern car is a vestigial organ.

EFI and electronic ignition have also made cars much more reliable.
Cars start much better nowadays.
They almost always start on the first try.
Remember pumping the gas, and then flooding the carb, then waiting, try again, battery getting weaker......
Modern ignitions retard the timing in starting mode which makes it much easier for the engine to start.

 

[Bob Blaylock]

One of my greatest regrets in life is that I did not find some way to keep my first car, and eventually to restore it.

I was six years old when my parents bought their very first car, this 1969 Falcon station wagon.

I was twenty-five when they gave it to me. By then, it had over 160,000 miles on it, and about nineteen years, and was unarguably well past its prime. It broke down, often, but I became very good at figuring out what was wrong with it, usually getting it to limp to an auto parts store, where I would open the hood, take out a part, walk in and say “I need another one of these.” With the new part in hand, I'd go back out, install it, and be on my way.

When this picture was taken, it had spent several months in my parents' driveway, with me having spent a lot of time and effort, in vain trying to figure out why it wouldn't run. Right after this picture was taken, we hauled it off to the junkyard. My wife said, “You wouldn't cry that much over me!”. I guess there are some things that women just do not get. By this point, it was about twenty-eight years old, and had about 220,000 miles on the odometer.

And this wasn't some four-banger pussy car like the OP described. Ford didn't even make pussy cars then, as Chevrolet did. This one had an inline six, which was the least that any Ford automobile of its time had. This one had the two-hundred cubic-inch I6, which was the middle of the three engines offered for it.

 

[Baron Von Murderpaws]

My grandma had a 1966 Chevy Nova she got brand new. She had it till she died and my mother took it.

Seafoam green inside and out. No a/c. That car lasted her 40 years with NO problems. I think she had the heater core replaced and the fuel pump.....and possibly the alternator, but thats about it in a 40 year period. I don't even know how many miles was on it. But after my granny died and my mother took the car, she drove it from East Texas to West Texas without any problems.

THAT was a hard core car if I've ever seen one! Hell, even the seat fabric and the dashboard were in good shape.......a bit faded, but the dash never cracked and the seats never ripped or tore.

This is the EXACT color and style of what my granny bought.

 

[DGS49]

To me, rust prevention is the biggest single improvement. If that family bought its Nova where I live, within three years it would have visible rust, and two years later there would be actual holes in the fenders, rocker panels and quarter panels. Within a year or two more the car was junk - worth less than the cost to refurbish the rotting body.

The 2021 Civic will still be on the road in ten years, probably with no visible rust. And as long as the body is solid, it's almost always worthwhile to fix any mechanical issues.

I hate rust.

 

[Baron Von Murderpaws]

To me, rust prevention is the biggest single improvement. If that family bought its Nova where I live, within three years it would have visible rust, and two years later there would be actual holes in the fenders, rocker panels and quarter panels. Within a year or two more the car was junk - worth less than the cost to refurbish the rotting body.

The 2021 Civic will still be on the road in ten years, probably with no visible rust. And as long as the body is solid, it's almost always worthwhile to fix any mechanical issues.

I hate rust.

I don't think her car ever rusted. It oxidized in places though, but I don't think it ever rusted.

My Aunt (my grannies sister) had a Ford LTD for about as long as my granny had her Nova.
It rusted though. Of course my grannys Nova was a simple car, as my Aunts car was fancy, with lots of chrome adornment all over it......where water could sit and hide. She turned it in for a Buick at one point though. She didn't like the Buick, and kept pining for her LTD.

This is what my Aunt had, but hers had a bit of extra chrome "piping" around the hood.

 

[Bob Blaylock]

I was six years old when my parents bought their very first car, this 1969 Falcon station wagon.

An embarrassing error here. I omitted a word. The Falcon was my parents' first •NEW• car. They'd had a few used cars before it. I barely remember the blue Plymouth that was the Falcon's predecessor.

 

[braalian]

My grandma had a 1966 Chevy Nova she got brand new. She had it till she died and my mother took it.

Seafoam green inside and out. No a/c. That car lasted her 40 years with NO problems. I think she had the heater core replaced and the fuel pump.....and possibly the alternator, but thats about it in a 40 year period. I don't even know how many miles was on it. But after my granny died and my mother took the car, she drove it from East Texas to West Texas without any problems.

THAT was a hard core car if I've ever seen one! Hell, even the seat fabric and the dashboard were in good shape.......a bit faded, but the dash never cracked and the seats never ripped or tore.

This is the EXACT color and style of what my granny bought.

Nice. Cars last longer down south. No way it would’ve lasted that long up north.

 

[gipper]

Yeah new cars are much better, but I miss the big boats of the 60s and 70s. I bought this 1978 Olds Toronado in 1979. I was still living at home…and had a better car than my dad.

Chicks loved this car and it was unstoppable in the snow, with a 403 V8 front wheel drive. Of course, Michigan winters turned it into a rust pile very quickly. I sold it before that happened.

 

[Jarlaxle]

I'd rather get a Valiant 100 in 1967...six cylinder, manual shift on the floor, no options except radio, disc brakes, and HD cooling (for the clutch fan), about $2200. Hit Sears for an A/C installation. VASTLY superior to the archaic (even in 1967) Chevy II.

Or clone Rick Ehrenberg's first new car: 1965 Plymouth Valiant 200 sedan. 4bbl 273 Commando, 4-speed manual, Sure Grip differential, fast-ratio manual steering, manual disc brakes, HD suspension, Blue Streak tires. It arrived on the transporter with "4 DOOR 4 SPEED" on the windshield. That car made him LOTS of money street racing on (then-rural) Long Island. His favorite backroad prey were the drivers of high-end European sports cars. They were NOT happy at getting dusted by a Plymouth Valiant.

PS-Novas never had frames. They were unit-body.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Modern cars are "cooler" than the cars of your childhoods in one way only ...

Back in the day, in hot weather, or when traveling over high grades, it was a common site to see cars on the side of the road waiting for the radiators to cool down. I can't remember the last time I saw a car overheat.

I have 150,000 miles on my commuter car and I've never seen the temp gauge creep above the middle of the dial even once. A temp gauge on a modern car is a vestigial organ.

It's probably a fake gauge. I have seen an OBD2 reader plugged in showing temperatures varying between 170 and 225 degrees with the gauge never moving.